LAKE CHARLES— McNeese volleyball opened the season with two hard fought losses, a 3-0 (26-24, 25-22, 25-22) loss to Miami (OH.) and a 3-0 (26-24, 29-15, 28-26) loss to Cal State Fullerton on the first day of the Sam Houston Bearkat Invitational Friday. Both matches went down to the wire and could have gone either way.
The Cowgirls will conclude tournament play at 2 p.m. Saturday against Sam Houston. The match will stream on ESPN+.
In the opening set and the score tied at 23,
Kayla Wilson put the Cowgirls up 24-23 with a kill. A bad set by McNeese tied the set at 24 apiece before the Redhawks took a 25-24 lead on a kill then claimed the first set with an ace for a 1-0 lead.
The Cowgirls held a 22-21 lead in set two, but the Redhawks went on a 4-0 run to take the second set 25-22 and a 2-0 overall match lead. The Redhawks scored the last four points of the set on two kills, a McNeese hitting error and won the set on an ace.
The Cowgirls trailed 19-16 but pulled to within one point on kills by Wilson and
Ava Henry to cut the lead to 19-18. A kill by
Gabbie Maldonado pulled the Cowgirls to within one point (22-21) but a the Redhawks extended their lead to 24-21 and eventually won the set and the match on a kill.
McNeese Post-Match Notes vs. Miami (OH)
• The match consisted of 29 ties and 12 lead changes
• Both teams ended the match with a .323 hitting percent
•
Kayla Wilson and
Gabbie Maldonado led the Cowgirls with 12 and 11 kills, respectively
• Maldonado ended the match with a .429 hitting percent with 11 kiss, two errors in 21 attempts
• Setters
Corynne Hausler and
Megan Grose both ended the match with double doubles
• Hausler dished was credited with 17 assists and a tied a match high with 13 digs
• Grose also dished out 17 assists and was credited with 12 digs
•
Ava Henry led the team with three blocks
McNeese Post-Match Notes vs. Cal State Fullerton
• Maldonado led the Cowgirls with nine kills
• For the second straight match,
Megan Grose and
Corynne Hausler both dished out at least 10 assists apiece. Grose was credited with 15 assists and Hausler had 14.
• Three Cowgirls recorded double figure digs.
Sophia Tocmo led the way with a career high 13 digs.
Kayla Wilson also picked up a career high with 11, and Grose had 10
•
Maleah Mutterback tied her career high with three blocks to lead the Cowgirls.
• McNeese got off to a slow start and trailed 4-1.
• The Cowgirls went on a 4-0 run to pull to within two points (21-19 ) and then scored three straight points to tie the set at 23 apiece.
• The set would then tie up again at 24 before the Titans would score the next two points on a kill and ace to win the first set 26-24)
• The Cowgirls trailed 6-4 early in set two but went on a 7-2 run to take a 11-8 lead and again 18-15
• The Titans then went on a 10-1 run to pick up the second set win 25-19 and a 2-0 match lead
• Cal State Fullerton led by as much as 14-10 but the Cowgirls fought their way back to pull to within one point (17-16). McNeese went on a run and took a 21-20 lead following a
Megan Grose ace and a
Gabbie Maldonado kill.
• The set would include six more ties, the last being 26 all. A kill by the Titans and an ace would give them the third set win and the overall match win.
